Compressed air power generating systems using a rotary gravity compressor

ABSTRACT

A rotary gravity compressor with a rotating shaft held between two support walls is driven by a drive gear mechanism, which may be a hydraulic system, and multiple cylinders are affixed to and juxtaposed about the rotating shaft at different angles relative to its rotation. Each cylinder has two bases at its opposite ends, each of which has an intake valve and an outtake valve for controlling flow of gas into and out of the cylinder, respectively, and a piston moves downward between the two bases as a result of gravity due to rotation of the shaft so that the piston compresses air within the cylinder until it is released through the bottom outtake valve when the piston has reached full compression while uncompressed air is introduced through the top intake valve as the piston moves downwardly. Bearings are located on the piston to lessen friction, a seal (e.g., an o-ring) is used to assist in compression of gas as the piston moves downwardly, shock absorbing devices are used to lessen shock as the piston reaches maximum compression and locking devices are used to hold the piston in place until it is released. The rotary gravity compressor is used in a system or method for generating power in which compressed air is used to generate work in an air turbine or power in a generator or is stored in an air tank that is then used to power an air turbine or a generator or a pneumatic tool.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention is in the field of electric power generating systems thatuse compressed gas and, more particularly, to systems using a rotarygravity compressor to compress air.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Electrical power is generated by a number of different processesthroughout the United States and the world. For example, coal, naturalgas or oil can be burned, or nuclear power can be used, to generatesteam to drive a steam turbine to drive an electrical generator toproduce electricity. These types of plants are well known, and vary indesign details, but they all involve the use of a depletable fuel andraise environmental concerns because of byproducts that such plantsgenerate that pollute the environment.

Because of concerns over depletion of natural resources, as well asenvironmental concerns, efforts have been made to generate electricitythrough cleaner (or “greener”) processes using alternative power sourcesor power generating schemes that do not deplete limited naturalresources or create harmful byproducts. For example, efforts have beenmade to generate electricity through solar and wind power andhydroelectric power has been used for some time when conditions areright for its use.

Other efforts have been directed to ways that power can be generatedduring off-peak times and stored for use during peak demand conditions,thus minimizing the need for new power plants and increased capitalspending.

As energy consumption increases throughout the world, especially withdeveloping countries like China consuming more and more energy, and withconcerns about pollution and limited natural resources becoming more andmore of a concern, there is a need for new and improved methods ofgenerating electrical power that do not deplete limited naturalresources, that do not pollute or at least are more environmentallyfriendly, and that are still economical. It is this need to which thepresent invention is directed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is generally directed to a rotary gravitycompressor with a rotating shaft held between two support walls that isdriven by a drive gear mechanism (which may be a hydraulic system).Multiple cylinders are affixed to and juxtaposed about the rotatingshaft at different angles relative to rotation of the shaft. Each of thecylinders has two bases at its opposite ends, each of which has anintake valve and an outtake valve for controlling flow of gas into andout of the cylinder, respectively, and the outtake valves are connectedto an air outtake pipe with multiple air connections. A piston ismovable within each cylinder between the two bases as a result ofgravity due to rotation of the shaft and movement of the piston in adownward direction creates compressed air within the cylinder which isreleased from the cylinder through a bottom outtake valve when thepiston has reached full compression while uncompressed air is introducedinto the cylinder through a top intake valve as the piston moves towardthe bottom base.

In a first, separate group of aspects of the present invention, bearingsare located on the pistons to lessen friction, a compression seal isused to assist in compression of gas as the piston moves downwardly,shock absorbing devices are used to lessen shock as the piston reachesmaximum compression and locking devices are used to hold the piston inplace until it is released.

In a second, separate group of aspects of the present invention, arotary gravity compressor is used in a system or method for generatingpower in which compressed air from the air outtake pipe is used togenerate work or power an air turbine or a generator or is stored in anair tank that is then used to power an air turbine or a generator or apneumatic tool.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provideimproved compressed air power generating systems using a rotary gravitycompressor.

This and further objects and advantages will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art in connection with the drawings and the detaileddescription of the invention set forth below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a rotary gravity compressor according to apreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cut-away end view of the rotary gravity compressorof FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is another partial cut-away end view as shown in FIG. 2 with theaddition of a support wall and diagrammatic representation of a drivegear mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a representation of a cylinder used in a rotary gravitycompressor as shown in FIG. 1 with a representation of air flow.

FIG. 5 is a partial cutaway and blow up of one end of the cylinder shownin FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a partial cutaway of a cylinder and piston used in the rotarygravity compressor of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a top planar view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 a partial cutaway of one end of a cylinder used in the rotarygravity compressor of FIG. 1 with the piston close to, but not inlocking engagement with, the base of the end of the cylinder.

FIG. 9 is a top planar view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a partial cutaway of a cross section of one end of thecylinder shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 11 is a partial cutaway of a cross section of one end of thecylinder shown in FIG. 1 in which the rotating shaft has been rotatedninety degrees from its position shown in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic view of a rotary gravity compressor accordingto a preferred embodiment of the present invention used in connectionwith a turbine.

FIG. 13 is a diagrammatic view of a rotary gravity compressor accordingto a preferred embodiment of the present invention used to pressurize anair tank for use with an air turbine or other system using compressedgas.

FIG. 14 is a diagrammatic view of a rotary gravity compressor accordingto a preferred embodiment of the present invention used to pressurize anair tank for use with a pneumatic tool.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is generally directed to a rotary gravitycompressor that has multiple cylinders that are rotated in a circularmotion about an axis of a shaft. A piston is raised to a vertical raisedposition and then released, compressing air in its cylinder in aone-step process. The compressed air is then removed, and the multiplepiston/shaft structure is rotated so that a second piston is now in avertical free fall position. This second piston now falls due togravity, compresses air in its second cylinder, and then that compressedair is removed. The structure then rotates to a third piston/cylinderand the process is repeated. So, there are multiple piston/cylindersthat operate sequentially in series on a continuous basis to compressair. The movement of the cylinders between positions can take placecontinuously or in a step-wise fashion.

The present invention will now be discussed in connection with adetailed description of one preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-14.The drawings are not drawn to engineering scale and the actual scale ofa device will depend upon need and the application in which it is used.

In the Figures and the following more detailed description, numeralsindicate various features of the invention, with like numerals referringto like features throughout both the drawings and the description.Although the Figures are described in greater detail below, thefollowing is a glossary of the elements identified in the Figures:

-   -   1 rotary gravity compressor    -   2 support wall    -   3 rotating shaft    -   4 air outtake pipe    -   4 a air outtake pipe air opening    -   5 cylinder    -   6 air outtake cylinder pipe    -   7 rotating pipe coupling valve    -   8 drive gear mechanism    -   11 first cylinder base    -   12 first cylinder base intake valve    -   13 first cylinder base outtake valve    -   14 air intake pipe    -   14 a air intake pipe air opening    -   15 one-way valve    -   16 air intake cylinder pipe    -   21 second cylinder base    -   22 second cylinder base intake valve    -   23 second cylinder base outtake valve    -   31 piston    -   32 wheel    -   33 compression seal    -   34 shock absorbing device    -   35 locking device    -   35 a male locking device    -   35 b female locking device    -   41 cylinder base    -   42 cylinder intake valve    -   43 cylinder outtake valve    -   51 air turbine    -   52 transmission    -   53 generator    -   54 air tank    -   70-91 positions of cylinder 5 during rotation

FIG. 1 is a side view of a rotary gravity compressor 1 with elevencylinders 5 connected or affixed to rotating shaft 3. Rotating shaft 3is held above the ground by two support walls 2 and is rotated by asuitable drive gear mechanism, generally designated and diagrammaticallyrepresented as 8 (see also FIG. 3). In view of the size and weight ofrotary gravity compressor 1, it is especially preferred that gearmechanism 8 be designed with a gearing system that will minimize torqueand utilize a hydraulics system connected to the gears. The hydraulicsystem will be run by an electric motor that will be getting its powerfrom an electrical grid or, in case there is no grid available, theelectric motor can run using a diesel generator as a startup device andlater on once the device is ready and workable the electric motor willdraw electricity from the local grid that is made by using the rotarygravity compressor. In this regard, for a very large scale rotarygravity compressor, where each piston might weigh a ton or more, therewill be a number of engineering issues related to torque and rotation;however, the details of such a gearing system should be within the skillof a person of ordinary skill in the art when coupled with the presentdisclosure, especially if such person studies the engineering detailsassociated with the Falkirk Wheel which is a rotating boatlift used toconnect the Forth & Clyde and Union canals in central Scotland. Anintroductory description of the Falkirk Wheel can be found in the pagesof Global Design News, in an article published May 20, 2002 by NormanBartlett, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Although cylinders 5 are connected or affixed to rotating shaft 3 in anespecially preferred embodiment, it is conceivable that such cylinderscould be incorporated into or made part of a rotation mechanism itself;accordingly, for purposes of the present invention, a “rotating shaft”shall be defined as any device or mechanism, or group of devices ormechanisms, whether it includes a “shaft” or not, by which multiplecylinders are aligned in a preselected orientation and rotated togetherin accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 7 and 11, compressed air exits rotary gravitycompressor 1 through air outtake pipe 4 which is coupled to anon-rotating pipe by rotating pipe coupling valve 7. Rotating pipecoupling valve 7 can also include ball bearings (not shown) to reducefriction, and the design of such a valve is within the skill of one ofordinary skill in the art aided with the present disclosure. Air outtakepipe 4 proceeds from rotating pipe coupling valve 7 through support wall2 and into one end of rotating shaft 3 whereupon it exits at two airouttake pipe air openings 4 a and is then connected to a series of airouttake cylinder pipes 6 which have air flow regulated throughout by aseries of one-way valves 15. Air outtake pipe 4 and air openings 4 a,when they are inside of a solid rotating shaft 3, can be formed byboring the structures out of the solid shaft. Each cylinder 5 has twoair outtake cylinder pipes that run along or offset from the outside ofthe outer cylinder wall to the ends of the cylinder where they areconnected through a cylinder outtake valve 43 (see FIG. 5) to theoutside of a cylinder base 41. The series of air outtake cylinder pipes6 and one-way valves 15 feed compressed air from the cylinders 5 intoair outtake pipe 4, as will be described in greater detail later.

It is especially preferred, in certain applications, to provide atreated stream of feed air to cylinders 5 (e.g., when the air might needto be dried). To accomplish this purpose, a second system of pipes andone-way valves, similar to that for the outtake system, can be includedin rotary gravity compressor 1, as is shown in FIG. 1, although such asystem might be omitted in certain applications. An intake system ofpiping can be designed so that it enters rotary gravity compressor 1 ateither of its two ends, although FIG. 1 shows an especially preferredembodiment in which the intake piping system enters rotary gravitycompressor 1 at the end opposite of air outtake pipe 4. In such asystem, air intake pipe 14 a would be coupled by a rotating pipecoupling valve (not shown) similar to rotating pipe coupling valve 7,and could proceed in mirror image fashion to the air outtake pipingsystem so that air intake pipe 14 proceeds from its rotating pipecoupling valve through support wall 2 and into the other end of rotatingshaft 3 whereupon it exits at two air intake pipe air openings 14 a andis then connected to a series of air intake cylinder pipes 16. Eachcylinder 5 has two air intake cylinder pipes that run along or offsetfrom the outside of the outer cylinder wall to the ends of the cylinderwhere they are connected through a cylinder intake valve 42 (see FIG. 5)to the outside of a cylinder base 41. Thus, the series of air intakecylinder pipes 16 feed air into cylinders 5 from air intake pipe 14. Thepiping system utilized in the preferred embodiment is exemplary but notthe only way that a suitable piping system can be designed andimplemented.

FIG. 1 provides a perspective of the orientation of cylinders 5 as toone another along rotating shaft 3. As shaft 3 rotates, the angle of thevarious cylinders 5 relative to the ground varies as the shaft goesthrough a complete 360 degree rotation. The orientation of cylinders 5relative to one another will depend upon how many cylinders are used ina particular application; however, it is generally desirable that thecylinders be spaced apart at symmetric angles for a more continuouscompressed air feed unless the sizing of the cylinders is adjusted toaccomplish the same purpose.

Rotary gravity compressor 1 can be designed for use in high or lowpressure applications and the particular application may dictate changesin how pistons 31 move within cylinders 5 to compress air. FIG. 4 is arepresentation of one cylinder 5 used in rotary gravity compressor 1with a representation of air flow into and out of cylinder 5. As shownin FIG. 4, cylinder 5 is in a vertically upright position in whichpiston 31 is at or near the top base of cylinder 5 which is designatedas first cylinder base 11 which also has first cylinder base intakevalve 12 and first cylinder base outtake valve 13. Piston 31 ispreferably solid, so as to increase its weight and thereby increase thedegree to which it can compress air within cylinder 5 beneath it as itmoves toward the lower base of cylinder 5 which is designated as secondcylinder base 21 which also has second cylinder base intake valve 22 andsecond cylinder base outtake valve 23. It is especially preferred thatpiston 31 be made of stainless steel material because such metal isabundant and because of its high density which makes it easier and moreeffective for rotary gravity compressor 1 to use the effects of gravityto generate its compressed air.

In general, when piston 31 moves downwardly (due to gravity) from firstbase 11 toward second base 21, the volume of air (or gas) held withincylinder 5 will decrease while its pressure will increase according toBoyle's Law which may be simplified as pressure times volume is equal toa constant (PV=C) for a given mass at a constant temperature. To obtainincreased pressure of air or another gas held within cylinder 5 aspiston 31 moves, the volume of space occupied by the gas must decrease.The size of cylinder 5 will affect the volume of gas and piston 31 sizeand weight will affect the pressure. Also, if high pressure outtake gasis desired, it is especially preferred that piston 31 be dropped fromits highest practical height and be allowed to compress trapped gas in arapid action.

Seals 33, at each end of piston 31, help prevent leakage around theoutside circumference of piston 31. It is especially preferred thatcompression seals 33 be an oversize compression o-ring that canwithstand high pressure and seal tight for minimum loss of air pressure,but such seals must not be so complete that they unduly limit orrestrict movement of piston 31 within cylinder 5, and, in an especiallypreferred embodiment, such seals can be made of metal in an oval shapethat can be snapped into a groove formed in piston 31 and then securedin place by securing piston heads to the ends of piston 31 to therebyretain the seals.

To assist movement of piston 31 within cylinder 5, especially in lowpressure applications where it might gradually move from one base to theother as shaft 3 rotates through 180 degrees, piston 31 is fitted withbearings to help minimize friction, and it is especially preferred thatfour such bearings be located ninety degrees apart from each other atboth ends of piston 31 near compression seals 33 (see FIGS. 6 and 7),although other configurations with more bearings will also work. In thepreferred embodiment depicted in the drawings, the bearings are shown aswheels 31, although other types of bearings can also be used. Inaddition, cylinder 5 may need to have a lubricant in order not tooverheat and cylinder 5 may also need to have a double wall (not shown)to allow a liquid, such as water, to cool the cylinder.

In low pressure applications (where compressed gas leaving cylinder 5through cylinder outtake valve 43 is approximately 100 psi or less),piston 31 can be allowed to roll down cylinder 5 from one base to itsother base until it reaches maximum compression when cylinder 5 isperpendicular to the ground. Such movement occurs as shaft 3 rotates sothat as an upper end of a cylinder rotates from roughly position 87shown in FIG. 2 until a position between positions 70 and 71, assuming acounterclockwise rotation of shaft 3 shown in FIG. 2. Once piston 31 hasreached its maximum compression location, cylinder outtake valve 43 canbe opened to allow the pressurized gas to enter air outtake cylinderpipe 6 from the bottom of the cylinder which would be in a positionbetween positions 81 and 82. After this point, cylinder outtake valve 43would be closed and then cylinder intake valve 42 would eventually beopened to allow gas into cylinder 5 so as to avoid creating a vacuumthat would restrict movement of piston 5 toward the opposite base ofcylinder 5 during further rotation. Cylinder intake and outtake valves42 and 43 (which include first and second cylinder base intake andouttake valves 12, 22, 13 and 23, respectively), are all one-way valveswhose timing is configured so that compressed gas is withdrawn fromcylinder 5 from a lower base at an appropriate time, depending upon theapplication. When rotary gravity compressor 1 is being used to sendcompressed gas to an air tank, the outtake valves in the lower base mayremain open during substantially all of the time that such valves wouldbe in the lower 180 degrees of rotation of their cylinder, whereas suchvalves might remain closed during a substantial portion of such bottomrotation when rotary gravity compressor 1 is being used to feedcompressed air to an air turbine.

In high pressure applications, piston 31 can be released when it is ator near its maximum height from the ground, such as when the upper baseof cylinder 5 is between positions 70 and 71 shown in FIG. 2. In such anapplication, a locking device 35 is needed at both the first and secondcylinder bases 11 and 21, and one such locking device is shown in FIGS.8 and 9 where male locking member 35 a is affixed to a base end ofpiston 31 and then couples with female locking device 35 b affixed tocylinder base 41. In such an embodiment it is also desirable to includea shock absorbing device 34 at each cylinder base 41.

In high pressure applications it may also be desirable to vary thevolume of one or more cylinders 5, or the diameter of air outtakecylinder pipes 6, to take into account distances of cylinders 5 from airouttake pipe air opening 4 a.

One or more rotary gravity compressors 1 according to the presentinvention can be used in a single application, but it may beadvantageous to use multiple compressors that can be synchronized toprovide a more constant rate of pressurized gas where such a constantrate is desired. The pressurized gas can be used directly with an airturbine, stored in an air tank 54 (see FIG. 13) or the like (such as acave) or be used in any other application utilizing compressed air. (Forexample, pressurized gas could be used in a power generating system suchas disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,208,592.) Once the pressurized gas hasbeen stored, the stored gas can be released when it is needed to an airturbine (e.g., during high demand peaks for energy) or in connectionwith pneumatic tools (see FIG. 14) or in any other application utilizingcompressed air.

While the invention has been described herein with reference to anespecially preferred embodiment, this embodiment has been presented byway of example only, and not to limit the scope of the invention.Additional embodiments thereof will be obvious to those skilled in theart having the benefit of this detailed description, especially to meetspecific requirements or conditions. Further modifications are alsopossible in alternative embodiments without departing from the inventiveconcept.

Accordingly, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that stillfurther changes and modifications in the actual concepts describedherein can readily be made without departing from the spirit and scopeof the disclosed inventions as defined by the following claims.

1. A rotary gravity compressor, comprising: a first support wall; asecond support wall; a rotating shaft held between the first and thesecond walls; an air outtake pipe with a plurality of air connections; aplurality of cylinders affixed to and juxtaposed about the rotatingshaft at a plurality of different angles relative to rotation of theshaft, each of the plurality of cylinders further comprising: a firstbase having a first intake valve and a first outtake valve forcontrolling flow of gas into and out of the cylinder, respectively,wherein the first outtake valve is connected to the air outtake pipe; asecond base having a second intake valve and a second outtake valve forcontrolling flow of gas into and out of the cylinder, respectively,wherein the second outtake valve is connected to the air outtake pipe,the second base being located at the opposite end of the cylinder fromthe first base; and a piston movable within the cylinder; wherein thepiston moves between the first base and the second base as a result ofgravity due to rotation of the shaft and creates compressed air withinthe cylinder in a downward direction of the piston; and whereincompressed air is released from the cylinder through the first outtakevalve when the piston is in a first base compressed state and throughthe second outtake valve when the piston is in a second base compressedstate; and wherein uncompressed air is introduced into the cylinderthrough the second intake valve as the piston moves between the secondbase compressed state and the first base compressed state and throughthe first intake valve as the piston moves between the first basecompressed state and second base compressed state; and a drive gearmechanism for causing rotation of the rotation shaft.
 2. A rotarygravity compressor as recited in claim 1, wherein each of the pluralityof cylinders is further comprised of: a device to lessen frictionbetween an inner wall of the cylinder and the piston as the piston movesbetween the first base and the second base.
 3. A rotary gravitycompressor as recited in claim 2, wherein the device is a plurality ofbearings.
 4. A rotary gravity compressor as recited in claim 2, whereineach of the plurality of cylinders is further comprised of: a seal toassist in compression of gas as the piston moves between the first baseand the second base.
 5. A rotary gravity compressor as recited in claim4, wherein the seal is comprised of at least one compression seal.
 6. Arotary gravity compressor as recited in claim 1, wherein each of theplurality of cylinders is further comprised of: a first shock absorbingdevice to lessen shock as the piston approaches the first basecompressed state; and a second shock absorbing device to lessen shock asthe piston approaches the second base compressed state.
 7. A rotarygravity compressor as recited in claim 1, wherein each of the pluralityof cylinders is further comprised of: a first locking device to hold thepiston in the same position as the first base compressed state until thefirst locking device is released; and a second locking device to holdthe piston in the same position as the second base compressed stateuntil the second locking device is released.
 8. A rotary gravitycompressor as recited in claim 7, wherein the rotary gravity compressoris used to produce compressed air having a pressure of less thanapproximately 100 psi.
 9. A rotary gravity compressor as recited inclaim 1, wherein the drive gear mechanism is a hydraulic system.
 10. Arotary gravity compressor as recited in claim 1, wherein compressed airfrom the air outtake pipe is used to power an air turbine.
 11. A rotarygravity compressor as recited in claim 1, wherein compressed air fromthe air outtake pipe is stored in an air tank that is used to power apneumatic tool.
 12. A system for generating power, comprising: a rotarygravity compressor, comprising: a rotating shaft having an air outtakepipe with a plurality of air connections; a plurality of cylindersaffixed to and juxtaposed about the rotating shaft at a plurality ofdifferent angles relative to rotation of the shaft, each of theplurality of cylinders further comprising: a first base having a firstintake valve and a first outtake valve for controlling flow of gas intoand out of the cylinder, respectively, wherein the first outtake valveis connected to the air outtake pipe; a second base having a secondintake valve and a second outtake valve for controlling flow of gas intoand out of the cylinder, respectively, wherein the second outtake valveis connected to the air outtake pipe, the second base being located atthe opposite end of the cylinder from the first base; and a pistonmovable within the cylinder; wherein the piston moves between the firstbase and the second base as a result of gravity due to rotation of theshaft and creates compressed air within the cylinder in a downwarddirection of the piston; and wherein compressed air is released from thecylinder through the first outtake valve when the piston is in a firstbase compressed state and through the second outtake valve when thepiston is in a second base compressed state; and wherein uncompressedair is introduced into the cylinder through the second intake valve asthe piston moves between the second base compressed state and the firstbase compressed state and through the first intake valve as the pistonmoves between the first base compressed state and second base compressedstate; a drive gear mechanism for causing rotation of the rotationshaft; and a generator for generating power that is powered by use ofcompressed air from the air outtake pipe.
 13. The system of claim 12,further comprising: an air tank located between the air outtake pipe andthe generator.
 14. The system of claim 12, further comprising: an airturbine located between the generator and the air outtake pipe.
 15. Thesystem of claim 14, further comprising: a transmission located betweenthe air turbine and the generator.
 16. The system of claim 14, whereinthe air turbine is operated using outtake gas from the rotary gravitycompressor with a pressure of less than about 100 psi.
 17. A method forgenerating work from compressed air, comprising the steps of: (1)generating compressed air through use of a rotary gravity compressorhaving a rotating shaft with an air outtake pipe with a plurality of airconnections connected to a plurality of cylinders affixed to andjuxtaposed about the rotating shaft at a plurality of different anglesrelative to rotation of the shaft, each of the plurality of cylinderscomprising: a first base having a first intake valve and a first outtakevalve for controlling flow of gas into and out of the cylinder,respectively, wherein the first outtake valve is connected to the airouttake pipe; a second base having a second intake valve and a secondouttake valve for controlling flow of gas into and out of the cylinder,respectively, wherein the second outtake valve is connected to the airouttake pipe, the second base being located at the opposite end of thecylinder from the first base; and a piston movable within the cylinder;wherein the piston moves between the first base and the second base as aresult of gravity due to rotation of the shaft and creates compressedair within the cylinder in a downward direction of the piston; andwherein compressed air is released from the cylinder through the firstouttake valve when the piston is in a first base compressed state andthrough the second outtake valve when the piston is in a second basecompressed state; and wherein uncompressed air is introduced into thecylinder through the second intake valve as the piston moves between thesecond base compressed state and the first base compressed state andthrough the first intake valve as the piston moves between the firstbase compressed state and second base compressed state; and a drive gearmechanism for causing rotation of the rotation shaft; (2) using thecompressed air to generate work.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein thecompressed air is first stored in an air tank before it is used togenerate work.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the air tank is usedto power a pneumatic tool.
 20. The method of claim 17, wherein thecompressed air is used to power an air turbine that is used to drive anelectrical generator.